Nvidia Shield game streaming works over the Internet

Nvidia’s Shield is poised to become popular with mobile gamers, game developers, Android developers, and Nvidia fans. Nvidia’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, says that early sales of the device have been good, with Nvidia selling every Shield they shipped at launch.

Not only is it based on brand new hardware found in no other device yet (Tegra 4) but it’s also pretty easy to modify and customise, thanks to how Nvidia designed the console. A stock, fully unlocked version of Android Jelly Bean is just the icing on the cake.

The handheld console also has one interesting feature that no other device does natively – game streaming from your PC. You can stream your games from your PC to Shield wherever there is local Wi-Fi access. Both devices have to be on the same network, but you can stream your games wherever you have network signal, be that your bedroom, toilet, or outside deck.

Game streaming has an inherent flaw in that it only works on a local network. Nvidia is currently working on getting Shield working with the Geforce GRID to make online game streaming a reality.

In the meantime, you can stream games over the internet using a VPN, thanks to members of the XDA forums who have been the guinea pigs for Nvidia.

Internet Game Streaming How-To:

Sign up for an account with a free dynamic DNS service. This is required as most ISP users do not have a static internet IP address.
In Windows 7/8, go to the Network and Sharing center and click the Change adapter settings button.
Press File > New > New Incoming Connection.
Select user that you will use to log in to the VPN. This will have the same username and password that you currently use.
Check the box under “How will people connect?” to allow for connecting to the VPN through the internet.
Allow access to TCP/IP V4 by clicking the entry and clicking the “Allow access” button. This should complete creating the incoming connection.
Go to Settings on your Shield. Go to More > VPN -> hit the plus button (you may have to set a pin or pattern if you don’t already).
Enter a username, your external IP address (or dynamic dns) and your password. Enable PPP encryption.
Open the port TCP 1723 and GRE on your router. This can be found in Port Fowarding and using the “PPTP” preset service. Set up your dynamic DNS service on your router as well. Your chosen service provider will have instructions on how to do this.
Click the new VPN entry on your Shield. Log in, and if all goes well it should say “Connected.”

XDA users have noted that while the technology works, there is a lag in audio and a bit more input latency than a local Wi-Fi connection. A high upload speed on your home network would be advantageous here, as well as a service provider that performs well when it comes to local throughput.

Depending on the service provider, VPN connections may also be throttled and/or de-prioritised based on what service level you have with your ISP. While the game streaming does work, no guarantees can be made on how well it will work.